Pain and Pity
by exiledfreak
Summary: Jaina and Mara are swept up in a Yuuzhan Vong-lead Jedi Holocaust, and Jaina learns where Zekk has been for the past 11 months...
1. Pain an Pity--Chapter 1

Jaina was cold. Not just cold, but frozen, like any being unlucky enough to be caught outside on Hoth during a blizzard. The frigid feeling started at her brain, with the familiar memories of her basically carefree childhood, and descending toward her heart as the thoughts of years past reminded her more and more of Zekk. It had been nearly a year since last she'd seen the handsome, dark-haired young man, and she ached for just a glimpse of him. Jaina prayed for a transmission from his ship, even a slap in the face would be welcome, just to make sure he was still alive. Ordinarily she wouldn't have worried about his well-being; Zekk was more than capable of taking care of himself. The Yuuzhan Vong were what had her on edge. Jedi now had a price on their heads, and with that tended to travel in groups for safety. Zekk was a Jedi, and he was somewhere in the vast, dark, hostile galaxy all by himself. Jaina shivered. The thought caused her angst unlike anything else. 

She stared out the window of the lavish suite she was residing in, courtesy of her Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke. She'd offered to stick around and entertain her aunt on Coruscant while she waited out the last 2 months of her pregnancy in a relatively calm environment. Mara was reluctant to take maternity leave from kicking alien ass, but as much as Jaina loved to vape skips with her fellow Rouge Squadron members, she opted to stay and see to her aunt's needs--and wait for any messages from Zekk that might surface. She sighed deeply and sank down into one of the cushy sofas in the spacious living quarters, crossing her arms over her chest and propping her feet up on the coffee table in a very unladylike manner. 

"If your mother were here, she'd have your head for sitting like that," A voice sounded from the door. Mara Jade stood , leaning against the doorframe in a cremé silk robe. Her pregnant form cast a distinct silhouette on the floor. "Credit for your thoughts, Jai?" Her long red hair shone like spun gold under the bright glowrods as she flopped down next to her niece with a groan. "Gods, I can't wait until I have this kid and get my body back to normal." She chuckled good-naturedly. "So what's bugging you?"

Jaina brought her chocolate-colored eyes to meet her aunt's turquoise gaze. "What's been bugging me for the last 11 months?" She replied testily. Mara nodded sympathetically. 

"Men. They're unreliable, conniving, inconsiderate, and they drive the significant sex up the wall. If they weren't necessary, we'd be much better off without them." She patted her swollen belly. "No offense, Junior. Anyway, Jaina, Zekk will turn up eventually; he always does." She squeezed Jaina's shoulder fondly. "If they love you, they come back to you. And Zekk did give you his necklace." 

Jaina fingered the lengthy leather strap lassoed around her neck, and the shiny, milk-colored stone attached to the end. Zekk's most prized possession, the only thing he had besides his ship that had any monetary value or emotional significance, and he'd given it to her the night he'd left the Jedi Academy. The night after the graduation.

_The dusk air was humid on the landing field as Zekk loaded the last of his few possessions onboard the _Lightning Rod_. Jaina watched from the doorway of the hangar bay, fighting back tears. Why did he have to leave again? It seems as though he'd just returned! She bit her quivering lower lip and turned away so she could no longer see him readying to leave her. A cool breeze blew, forcing her to wrap her arms around herself to shake off the chill. Perhaps there was no breeze at all, it was just the glacial sensation of being abandoned by the single person who made the sun shine and the stars sparkle. A lone tear forced itself from one gloomy chocolate brown eye and meandered slowly down her cheek. Jaina did not bother to wipe it away._

She felt arms wrap tightly around her from behind, and Zekk's warm body against hers. She felt him rest his chin on the top of her head. That was one of the aspects about Zekk that Jaina cherished most; the way he could swathe her in an embrace and make her feel small in comparison to him. She'd always felt protected in Zekk's arms before, but not now. She was caught between wanting to angrily shove him away and collapsing into him and begging him to reconsider leaving. Another tear slid down her face.

"Gods, Jaina, don't cry, please." Zekk pleaded, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder and press his cheek into hers. "Don't make this any harder than it is." Jaina took a deep, shuddery breath to try and regain control of her emotions. She failed miserably.

"Harder? How can it get any harder? Zekk I just got you back and now you're taking off again! Why do you do this to me?" She shifted in his embrace so that she was facing him, so that he could see the hurt in her eyes. Zekk grimaced openly; he hated to hurt her and Jaina knew this. She planned to milk it to her advantage and back him into a corner, forcing him to stay with her. Gently, Zekk wiped the tears from her cheeks and pushed her long, straight brown hair out of her face. 

"I'll only be gone a little while, Jaina, I promise. I swear by the Force, on my life. Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Jaina pondered that for a moment.

"There was the time when you promised me you'd get me my own starfighter for my 12th birthday and you ended up not getting me anything...and that time where you swore we weren't going to get in trouble for disassembling Threepio and putting him back together inside out, and I ended up getting grounded for a week and a half..." She let her voice trail off and a weak, trembling smile appeared on her lips. Zekk gave a halfhearted laugh at her attempt to lighten the situation. He tilted her chin slightly upwards so she was looking directly into his emerald green eyes; his handsome features once again settled into a solemn expression. 

"I'd never go back on a promise like this," He murmured. "You mean too much to me. If I hurt you, I'd never be able to live with myself." He kissed her lightly on the forehead, pulling her closer. "You're my life, Jaina." 

Jaina ran her fingertips across one of his cheeks, and Zekk caught her hand, holding it there as if it were a treasure he never wanted to part with. She gazed intently at him, memorizing every feature of his being as so not to forget his radiant perfection while he was away. "I love you, Zekk," She whispered, almost inaudibly. They stood for several moments in complete silence, just holding each other, until Zekk released his arms from around her and lifted something from around his neck.

"I know you said necklaces weren't your style, but I want you to have this anyway." He slipped it over her head. The snow white stone at the end glistened in the twilight. Jaina stroked the stone lightly, then looked back up at Zekk. "I promise I'll be back," He mumbled, burying his face in her hair. Jaina gripped him tightly, once again fighting back torrents of tears. They kissed their first real kiss, on the lips. It conveyed everything the couple could not put into words. Their relationship had only been official for two or three days, but to Jaina it seemed as though it had always existed. It probably always had, deep in the innermost corners of their hearts. After what seemed like an eternity, but not nearly long enough, they slowly moved apart enough to look at each other. 

"I have to go," Zekk said, his voice strained. Jaina nodded, closing her eyes to hide her emotions. She didn't want Zekk to see the anguish in her expression. He kissed her once more, on the cheek. "I love you," He told her. Jaina squeezed his hand in reply, and continued to hold it as he began to walk towards his ship, until she could no longer graze his fingertips. Even then, she left her arm extended, as though reaching for Zekk would force him to return. He didn't look back. As the Lightning Rod_ blasted off, Jaina fell to her knees on the moist green grass of the landing field and sobbed, clutching the stone on Zekk's necklace all the while._

"Jaina...Jaina!" Her aunt's voice snapped Jaina out of her reverie. 

"Huh?" She snapped her head towards Mara, who looked slightly amused.

"I didn't mean to send you into a state of hypnosis. I asked if you wanted to go get something to eat. I'm starved, thanks to _him._" She gestured towards her rotund form. Jaina muttered a decline and stood up from the couch.

"Thanks anyway, Aunt Mara, but I just need to get some sleep." With those final words she walked languidly from the room.

As she lay in bed, blanketed by serene darkness, she thought back once again to the day Zekk had left.

"I promise I'll be back," Jaina mimicked his words sadly. "Well then, Zekk, where the hell are you?"


	2. Pain and Pity--Chapter 2

Mara awoke with a start, a sharp pain shooting through her back as though someone had just hit her. She cried out, but her shouts were muffled by a stranger's leathery hand. She felt herself being pulled out of bed by two more pairs of strong arms. As her eyes adjusted to the pitch darkness, she sighted Jaina across the room, restrained by two burly-looking beings. One thought popped into her head: _What in the galaxy is going on here?_ Mara's captor took his hand off her mouth and shoved her roughly to one side.

"You are now a prisoner of Yuuzhan Vong, _Jeedai_. Hurry and dress yourself; we'll be leaving here in five standard minutes. If you disobey us in any manner, this girl will know the true meaning of pain." He snarled viciously, gesturing at Jaina. Quickly, Mara pulled on a flightsuit and boots, then reached around for her lightsaber. The Vong whapped her wrist sharply with the tail end of his amphistaff. "You will leave your _Jeedai_ blade-that-burns." Mara complied with uncharacteristic meekness for safety for her unborn son and her niece.

The pair was prodded out of the bedroom and into the hallway, which glowed with the eerie light of Coruscant's setting moon. Jaina glanced around as she was forced forward, taking in as many details of her home as she could. There was no telling if she would see it again. If she would live to see it again. Jaina's thoughts wandered to Zekk. What if she died without one last gaze into his eyes? The harsh light of glowrods in the corridors leading from she and Mara's suites revealed the tears gleaming on her cheeks. The Yuuzhan Vong warrior flanking her left side chortled at her obvious distress. Jaina had to use extreme self-control not to lash out and kick him in the balls. _Breathe, Jaina. Calm down._ She took her own advice and held her breath for a ten-count. 

By the time she had salvaged her emotions, Jaina could see that she and Mara were not the only victims of this seizure. Out of other buildings, people of all ages and species were being herded into Yuuzhan Vong warships. The captives were in various stages of undress; some in pajamas, some still attired from an evening out, and some close to naked. Babies and younger children were crying for their parents, older children and adults were obeying the Vong's commands in dazed, subdued states. They had already given up hope. Jaina risked a fleeting look back at Mara, who nodded for her to face forward and act as the majority was doing. Mara and Jaina were patrolled up into the warship surrounded by a hub of prisoners. 

*****

"Word is they've just raided Coruscant," A petite, brown-haired human girl muttered to Zekk as she walked by, wary of the lash borne by her Yuuzhan Vong keeper. She adjusted the living basket of vibrantly colored vegetables on her head and continued to patter barefooted down the dusty road towards a building straight ahead. Zekk longed to ask her more questions, but he had no desire to face the consequences for hesitating in his work. Wild thoughts ran rampant in his mind as he knelt to tie one loosened bootlace. _Gods, if Jaina or Jacen or Peckhum..._ he hoped fervently that they were all safe and sound; far away from Coruscant at the time of the attack. Zekk knew firsthand the horrors of Yuuzhan Vong work camps. The ten long, tiring months he had spent laboring in the toiling heat for the masochistic race of aliens had been the epitamy of hell. Zekk had seen many of the prisoners brought in die or disappear in the most gruesome of ways within just a few days of their arrival. He himself was surprised he had lasted so long. He turned his head quickly as tortured female screams reached his ears. The girl who had just informed him about the raid on Coruscant was being held down by two Shamed Ones as the overseer brandished a sword-like weapon. A crowd had begun to gather around the four, humans and Vong alike. No one was chastised for leaving their work. An execution was a worthy excuse for a break. 

The weapon the overseer held in his grip quivered, eager to get its duty completed. Like all Yuuzhan Vong tools, the weapon was some sort of living creature. The overseer pulled the weapon sharply into the air, then with a _swoosh!_ brought it down into the girl's abdomen. Scarlet blood flew in all directions as she was stabbed again and again. Chunks of torn, mangled flesh flew from the weapon-animal's blade, spattering those near enough to the fray. Zekk turned away and closed his eyes, but her agonized screeches could still be heard. He shuddered and fought the urge to vomit. How could anyone be so brutal to another living creature? 

Finally, the ear-splitting cries ceased, and Zekk braved a look back. He immediately wished he hadn't. As soon as his gaze reached the spot where the girl's butchered cadaver lay in the blood-drenched soil, he saw that the perverse Yuuzhan Vong known as had used his bare hands to cleave away the tissue on her chest and wrench her heart from between her ribs. Bystanders, both men and women began to scream. Of all the atrocious murders Zekk had witnessed during his stint, there was no doubt this last one had been the worst. Unable to hold back any longer, Zekk turned and retched into a nearby clump of bushes, as many others were also doing. He was not at all surprised to see that he was not the only one who had become physically ill. Wiping the vomit from his mouth on a clean leaf, Zekk glanced back momentarily, out of morbid curiosity. The sadistic supervisor held the still-throbbing organ over his head, the girl's innocent blood trickling down his arms.

"Do'rik vong pratte!" He cried, eyes wild in his deformed skull, and he squeezed, his arm trembling, until the heart popped with a _squelch!_ in his hand. Fluid flew out from the burst mass of tissue like water from a balloon, each droplet glinting in the sunlight. The Vong lowered his quaking arms and viciously slammed the heart into the dirt.

"That will be the penalty for any who dare defy us! Learn from this, infidels! Learn to hold your tongues!" With that, he went back to his post, and left the prisoners to dispose of the corpse of their comrade. 

Although it took much effort, Zekk was able to partially throw off the shock of what he had just been forced to watch and return to his work. The dark-haired young man now prayed more fervently than ever that Jaina, Jacen, Peckhum, and any of the Solo family had been spared from the rumored Coruscant incursion. Black, oily dread began to fill his stomach at the thought of Jaina falling to the same fate as the slaughtered young woman whose body was now disfigured and left in the dirt to ferment in the sweltering, humid air. Although not 15 minutes had passed since her demise, flies and birds of prey were already rushing to devour the meat from her bones. As he once again bent to resume work, he whispered a prayer to an unknown deity.

"Please, keep Jaina away from this place." He murmured. "I don't want girl I love to end up like the girl plastered on the ground."


End file.
